


The Bargain

by heyprocrastination



Series: The Bargain 'Verse [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, how do you even tag?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-29 01:26:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6353419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyprocrastination/pseuds/heyprocrastination
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Lucifer's vessel isn't Nick, but a college-aged girl who somehow manages to change everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Bargain

I’m dreaming when I get a visit from the Devil.

It’s a weirdly vivid dream, but I can tell it’s not real by the way my vision fuzzes around the edges and some objects disappear when I look directly at them. For some reason, I’m standing in a cemetery in the middle of nowhere. All of the headstones have been worn down by the weather- the faded words inscribed in the stones are barely legible. The air is somehow completely still and silent despite the slight breeze that ruffles my hair.

There’s a creaking noise behind me, and I turn around. I catch the barest glimpse of a sign ( _Stull Cemetery_ , it reads) before there’s a person standing in front of me.

And it’s like a blow to the stomach. No, it’s worse- it’s like a champion MMA fighter suddenly decided to use my stomach as a punching bag.

It’s my twin brother ( _Ryan_ ), his dark windswept hair and impish expression tugging at something deep within me.

“Low blow, dude,” I tell my subconscious. “Low blow.”

This is probably the point where the dream turns into a nightmare- my dead brother will awaken his zombie brethren from the graves around me and tear me into pieces for letting him die. I’ll wake in a cold sweat and then end up staying up to watch to sun break the horizon a few hours later.

“Hello, Annika,” Zombie-Ryan (Zyan? Rombie?) says with a smile.

“Fuck off,” I tell him. “You know what, this is not cool, subconscious. Just when I’m starting to get back into my normal life, you come and fuck shit up. Seriously.”

“Language,” Zombie-Ryan chides me. “And I’m not your subconscious.”

“Oh?” I raise one eyebrow (Ryan taught me how to do that) and place my hands on my hips. “And who might you be, Zombie-Ryan?”

“My name is Lucifer,” Zombie-Ryan says pleasantly. “You may have heard of me.”

Ah, yes, it’s easy to see that it’s not Ryan now. The posture is too stiff, the speech too formal, and Satan hasn't quite managed to get the sparkle in his eye right.

“Of course you’re Satan,” I say sarcastically, tilting my head. Ah, I’ll go along with it. I’ve got nothing to lose. “I should’ve known. What do you want?”

“You see,” Lucifer says, “there’s a war about to begin. There’s Michael, my _beloved_ brother-”

I interrupt him. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t beat around the bush. What do you need me for?”

Lucifer looks startled (probably that a mere mortal would dare speak to him that way) and slightly murderous. Shit, it was probably a bad idea to interrupt Satan himself.

Huh. I'm actually starting to believe this.

Surprisingly, he decides not to smite me on the spot and acquiesces, “I need you to be my vessel. Angels cannot walk the Earth without a human vessel, and only specific humans are able to contain our power. Even fewer are able to contain that of an archangel. You are one of those few, and I need you to be my vessel. You’d be locked away in a quiet corner of your mind. It will be peaceful, and once everything’s over, you’ll go straight to Heaven.”

I stand there for a moment, processing, and then say, “Huh, nice speech. You should run for president.”

The murderous glint is back. I’m certain that he’s only refraining from killing me because he needs me to be his “vessel”, which sounds an awful lot like possession. Yikes.

“Okay, Lucifer, I’m assuming I have no say in this,” I say with a sigh, ignoring the expression on his face. “Because I’m pretty sure this is the situation where if I say no, you’ll force me to say yes. So I’ll agree, on a few conditions.”

“Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to make deals with the Devil?” he asks, sounding amused. I give him a look, and he rolls his eyes. “Name your conditions.”

“You said that I’ll be locked away in a peaceful corner of my mind,” I say. “Well, I don’t want that. I want to be aware and able to communicate with you in my mind- we’d basically be sharing my body.” I pause. “Ugh, that sounded awful. Plus, a few minutes every day with control over my body to surf the Internet or something. I also want to live once you’re done with me.”

“I can’t let you take control,” Lucifer says immediately. “Anything else?”

“Come on, it’d only be for a few minutes each day!” I wheedle. “I seriously doubt that I could win a mind battle with Satan, so if I do anything you don’t like, you can just take control again.”

Lucifer pulls a face. “Point taken. About living, though… Your body probably won’t be able to handle having me in you.”

“Oh, God, never say that again,” I cringe. “But there has to be some way. You’re Lucifer, right? You used to be an angel. Don’t angels have healing powers, or whatever?”

“Yes,” he says. “Fine. You’ll live once I’m done.”

“Also, just wondering, what does “done” mean?” I ask. “Like, done taking over the world, done causing the apocalypse, or what?”

“Actually, I have another vessel,” Lucifer says. “My true vessel. You’re just… Plan B. I need a physical form, and until I get my true vessel to say yes, I need you.”

“Okay,” I say slowly. “Okay. So you swear to follow my conditions?”

“I swear,” he says solemnly. “I’ve done many things, Annika, but I won’t lie to you.”

“Awesomesauce,” I bob my head up and down. I hold out my arms. “Well then, Lucifer, I’m all yours. I say yes.”

For a split second I’m awake again, lying in my bed under fluffy blankets in the dark, and then there’s white light encompassing my vision and it’s filling me and the sheer power is so overwhelmi-

 

-

 

“Interesting,” I hear myself say. I glance down and examine my body without even meaning to. I try to turn my head and discover that I can’t.

 _Lucifer?_ I ask in my mind.

 _Hello, Annika_ , he says in my? our? mind. _As I promised, you are aware. You may even have a moment of control, now_.

A chill runs through my body and suddenly I discover that I have control over my own body again. I flex my fingers experimentally. “Cool,” I say out loud. “Where to now, Satan?”

-

 _Ew!_ I shriek. _Oh my god get it the fuck off of my arm!_

Lucifer ignores me and pulls his arm out of Baldur’s chest. It comes out covered in red and Lucifer examines it with vague interest as Baldur crumples to the ground.

 _You're doing this on purpose, you dick!_ I wail, desperately trying to ignore the image in front of my eyes. _Ugh! Stop looking at it! At least wipe it off!_

Still no answer.

God, Satan is such a douchebag.

The goddess -Kali, I think- engulfs herself in fire and then throws it out at me- or rather, at Lucifer. The flame washes over me with no effect, and Lucifer starts to walk forward.

And then I'm being slammed against the wall by an unseen force. The air is forced out of my lungs, and Lucifer stumbles to his feet.

_Ow, what the fuck?_

A man steps forward, wielding a short silver blade. I register flashes of shock and anger and resignation and realization before Lucifer shuts himself off from me again.

“Luci, I'm home,” the probably-not-a-man says with a quirk of his eyebrow.

 _Ooh, he calls you Luci, I like him,_ I tell Lucifer.

 _I wish you would shut up for once,_ he snaps at me.

 _Well I demand control now,_ I sniff as the not-man (Gabriel, Lucifer calls him- holy crap, it's the archangel) tells the Winchesters to get the goddess out. _It's almost midnight and you haven't given me my time yet. A swear is a swear._

He still ignores me. Gabriel calls him a great big bag of dicks, and I laugh loudly.

 _Fine,_ I huff when Lucifer talks to Gabriel and ignores me. _You leave me no choice._

I start singing as loudly and obnoxiously as I can.

_NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP,_

_NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN,_

_NEVER GONNA TURN AROUND AND DESERT YOU!_

_NEVER WANNA SEE YOU CRY,_

_NEVER WANNA SA-A-AY GOODBYE…_

Now that I think about it, it's kind of sad that I know the words to the entire song. When I finish, I start from the beginning, each repeat getting worse and worse until my voice resembles that of a banshee.

“Fine!” Lucifer snaps loudly in the middle of Gabriel’s monologue, interrupting my singing. Gabriel looks extremely confused. “Just shut up!”

The familiar chill runs through my body, and I roll my head.

“Damn, that's nice,” I sigh, stretching my arms out. “Jeez. Don't angels ever stretch or anything?”

Gabriel's staring at me, slightly open mouthed. “What the hell?”

“I'm Annika Rutherford, Lucifer’s vessel,” I introduce myself with a sunny smile. “I made a deal with the Devil. I'm fully aware and get a few minutes of control each day, but otherwise I'm all his. Wow, that sounded wrong.”

“And Lucifer let you take control _now_?” Gabriel asks skeptically.

“I sang “Never Gonna Give You Up” nonstop,” I say with a smirk. “It had the desired effect.”

“Nice one,” Gabriel nods appreciatively.

“Thanks. So anyway, you should probably just try and kill me now,” I say cheerfully. Gabriel blinks. Lucifer says in a menacing tone, _Annika._ I ignore him and speak faster. “You do realize that Lucifer won’t hesitate to kill _you_? The illusion won’t-”

A chill, and then my body is no longer my own.

“Please excuse her,” Lucifer says through my mouth. “Sharing headspace with me has obviously affected her… mental health.”

 _I am not insane_ , I protest.

“Really?” Gabriel says coolly. “She sounded perfectly sane to me.”

Lucifer sighs. “Brother, please don’t make me do this.”

“No one makes us do anything,” Gabriel says, his blade held defensively in front of him.

“I know you think you’re doing the right thing, Gabriel,” Lucifer says, staring at him. “But I know where your heart truly lies.”

Gabriel’s eyebrows draw together, and then Lucifer is whirling me around to catch the real Gabriel’s hand. He uses Gabriel’s momentum to plunge the blade into Gabriel’s own stomach and I cringe mentally at the awful sound of tearing flesh.

_God dammit, Gabriel._

Gabriel’s hand claws at my arm and clutches it desperately, his eyes wide as he gazes into my eyes. I want to close my eyes, to shut out the heart-wrenching sight, but I can’t because the God-damned (literally) Devil is controlling my body.

“Here,” my voice says softly. My head turns to look at the illusion behind me, which shimmers with an ethereal blue light and melts away. Gabriel’s making pitiful little choking noises and _oh God_.

“Amateur hocus pocus,” Lucifer says, bringing my other hand up to support Gabriel’s head. “Don’t forget, you learned all your tricks from me, little brother.”

And then my hand, unbidden, twists the angel blade deeper into Gabriel’s stomach and his orifices blaze with light, his true voice screaming and I’m screaming along with him in my mind but I can’t _do anything_.

 _Your brother he’s your brother your fucking brother,_ I sob, trying to make my fingers unclench to no avail. **_Lucifer!_ **

Gabriel’s body drops to the ground with a hollow thud. Lucifer inhales. Exhales. He swallows thickly as he takes a step back, our eyes trained on Gabriel’s lifeless form. He’s sprawled out on the polished wooden floor, the imprints of his wings charred black into the ground behind him.

 _Your brother_ , I whisper, feeling numb. _He was your brother._

-

“Sorry if it’s a bit chilly,” Lucifer says, using my finger to draw a pitchfork in the ice on the window.

 _Ha,_ I snort. _Very funny. Nice sense of humor._

“Most people think I burn hot,” he continues. “I’m actually quite the opposite.”

“Well, I’ll alert the media,” the shorter Winchester says (Dean, I think). Lucifer turns and gives him a look, and Dean’s slight smirk disappears instantly.

Lucifer saunters forward a few steps and clasps his hands together.

“Help me understand something, guys,” he says. “I mean, stomping through my front door is… a tad suicidal, don’t you think?”

Dean’s gaze drops to the ground before flickering up to look at his brother.

“We’re not here to fight you,” Sam says vehemently.

“No?” Lucifer says, narrowing his eyes. “Then why are you?”

“I want to say yes,” Sam says, glaring at Lucifer.

 _No, no, you idiot!_ I groan. _You Winchesters are absolute idiots!_

“Excuse me?” Lucifer says quietly.

Sam inhales sharply, and with two bright flashes of light, the demons standing behind him and Dean drop to the ground. He exhales and opens his eyes to stare, undaunted, at Lucifer.

 _Damn_.

“Chock-full of Ovaltine, are we?” Lucifer says, remaining expressionless.

“You heard me,” Sam says. “Yes.”

_Idiot. Idiot, idiot, idiot. The Rings won’t work, you fucking idiot!_

I tune out the conversation- I know what’s going to happen. Sam will try to convince Lucifer that he actually wants to say yes, and then Lucifer will be all “Bitch please, I’m Satan. You can’t keep secrets from me.” He’ll say he knows about the Rings of the Horsemen, they’ll deny it, yada yada yada.

I really hope the Winchesters are smart enough to abandon their plan after that.

“So he knows. Doesn’t change anything,” Sam says, jaw clenched.

 _You had one job!_ I groan, mentally throwing my hands up in the air. _One freaking job!_

“Sam,” Dean says in a low voice, looking distraught.

“We don’t have any other choice,” Sam says, not looking at him.

“No,” Dean says, his voice cracking slightly.

_Oh, God._

“Yes,” Sam says with a tone of finality.

Lucifer tilts my head backwards, and his grace starts swirling inside of me.

 _Adios, Lucifer,_ I say with a sigh. _It wasn’t really nice knowing you. I better be alive after this._

 _I always keep my promises,_ Lucifer says smoothly.

Then his grace is flowing out of me, and I drop to the ground. The air is sucked out of my lungs and I gasp, scrambling back up to my feet.

Dean is standing in the middle of the room, his eyes wide and frantic. They land on me, and he takes a step backward.

“The Rings, dammit, the Rings!” I shout, bracing myself against a wall. Wow, it feels weird to not have Lucifer in my head.

Dean looks flabbergasted, but he pulls the Rings out of his pocket and tosses them at the wall across from him, saying the incantation to open the Cage.

Is it really necessary for him to hold his hand out dramatically like that?

The wall shudders and hairline fractures form beneath the Rings. There’s the sound of plaster cracking and then a gaping hole is torn into the wall. Wind howls and sucks everything into the Cage; bits of plaster and wood swirl into the darkness and disappear. I stumble and brace myself against the suction as more of the wall breaks away.

Sam struggles to his feet and I whip around to face him.

“Sammy!” Dean says, rushing over to help him up.

“Dean!” Sam shouts, letting out a groan of pain. His face is scrunched up as he staggers to his feet. “I can feel him! Oh, God!”

That’s not right.

“You gotta go now!” Dean shouts, helping him up. “Come on!”

As Sam stumbles towards the entrance to the Cage, all I can think is _that’s not right_.

There is no way that Sam was able to retain control after Lucifer entered him. That sheer power… there is no way that Sam would be able to keep a hold on him like that.

Lucifer’s pretending.

God, that sick bastard.

I surge forward, my footsteps masked by the wind.

Just as Lucifer turns back around, a triumphant smirk on his face, I tackle his legs. He loses balance, and Dean lets out a shout, but I can’t see his face.

My eyes are squeezed tightly shut as Lucifer steps back into thin air and we go toppling over.

And then it’s like being pulled into a black hole- we’re being sucked down farther and farther and faster and faster until I feel as though I might get stretched to death. I’ve lost hold of Lucifer by now.

And then it’s over.

-

Flames.

Burning, licking, biting, tearing.

Everywhere.

Someone is screaming. Is that me? My throat _is_ kind of hoarse.

Someone else- male. A scrap of memory floats to the surface of my melted brain. _Sam_.

“It’s okay.” The words tear themselves, unbidden, out of the tatters of my throat. “Hold on, Winchester, you’ll be okay.”

-

A light.

Soft and warm and powerful. It should not be here, not in Hell, not in the Cage.

I cry when it leaves.

- 

How long has it been? I lost track within the first hour. Or was it the first day?

I should’ve brought a deck of cards.

-

Another light.

Older and more powerful, not quite as cuddly.

I reach out towards it, and it reaches out towards me.

-

I inhale deeply, my back arching off of the floor and my head tilting backwards. My lungs fill with air -sweet, blessed, smoke-free air- and I start coughing; my lungs probably aren’t used to that much fresh air. I roll onto my side into the fetal position as I hack my lungs out (or at least it feels like it). My hair falls into my face and I brush it out of the way as my coughs subside.

“Fuck,” I groan, pushing myself up into a sitting position with shaky arms. “Jesus Christ.”

“Hey, you’re okay. You’re safe now.”

I freeze and glance up.

The Winchesters and another dark-haired guy in a trenchcoat are gazing down at me with worried expressions, and I let myself relax.  
“Hey, boys,” I say, sagging back down onto the floor. My lips quirk up into a smile as my eyes fall closed. “Nice to finally meet you as myself.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, my first completed SPN fanfic! Nice.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
